Package and method of packaging



P 1968 v. HECHLER 1v 3,399,760

PACKAGE AND METHOD OF PACKAGING Filed Nov. 1, 1966 2 Sheets-Sheet l .llll

.llllll" INVENTOR. FIG. IO VALENTINE HECHLER N HARBAUGH and THOMAS,Aflys.

P 3, 1963 v. HECHLER |v 3,399,760

PACKAGE AND METHOD OF PACKAGING Filed Nov. 1, 1966 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 IN VENTOR.

HARBAUGH and THOMAS,Aflys.

VALENTINE HECHLERIY' United States Patent Office a 3,399,760 PACKAGE AND METHOD OF PACKAGIN Valentine Hechler IV, 26 Meadow View, Northfield, Ill. 60093 Filed Nov. 1, 1966, 'Ser. No. 591,278 11 Claims. (Cl. 20665) ABSTRACT THE DISCLOSURE This invention relates to the art of packaging nonrigid materials essentially for manual handling by homeowners and to the method of forming such packages. More particularly, this invention relates to a multi-receptacle unitized package for comminuted or non-rigid materials which is easily handled and stored, wherein individual packets are so constructed and arranged and placed in balers in a manner to impart satisfactory rigidity and good handling and storing characteristics to the package individually or in stacks and the packets are so designed as to be readily opened individually for discharge of the contents under safe and controlled conditions.

The packaging of loose materials for industrial or home use has developed rapidly with the introduction a few years ago of a new synthetic and natural polymeric, esterified and cross-linked plastic and non-plastic compositions of matter from which a variety of containers and wrappings are fashioned, and although packaging is generally reported as the volume outlet for plastic films and sheets generally, and has other uses for such items as upholstery, film bases, inflatables, toys and decorative coverings, its success for specific problems is dependent upon form, handling and usage.

Among the many types of plastic film and sheeting available there probably is one that will meet any particular packaging use condition but is not usable for other conditions. Some plastics block the passage of water vapor but are gas permeable; still others allow passage of both moisture and gases and a remaining group block the passage of gas but are moisture permeable. Some snag and tear easily while others are hard to open without cutting. Such properties as durability, surface texture, toughness, impact strength, chemical compatibility and other factors including cost and adaptability to manufacturing methods often dictate or limit the end use of a plastic.

The design of packages for non-rigid or particulate materials for industrial and home use is important and presents many unique and separate problems where the product is water soluble granular material, is to be shipped as freight, stored under all weather conditions, handled as individual units, and ultimately is easily dispensed in predetermined accurate fractional quantities by both experienced and inexperienced personnel. Consideration has to be given to the physical and chemical properties of the material to be packaged, its economical packaging procedure, enduring labelling, the environmental changes encountered in various places all over the world, the ease with which it can be stored, handled and stacked to conventional heights as other packages in Patented Sept. 3, 1968 regular storage spaces, and finally the manner of use or safe emptying of the contents along with avoiding the possibilities and ultimate consequences of error and mistakes by following clear instructions on or in the package. Where the material in the package is .to be mixed with other substances or dissolved in a solvent before use, it is imperative both from the standpoint of safety and customer satisfaction that the package be designed to fulfill these requirements without employing costly and hard to fabricate spouts or container openings. Any instructions given on the package must be clearly legible, enduring, brief, easy to read and follow, even without reading glasses.

These and other considerations are particularly imperative where misuse or inadvertent failure to follow the instructions may result in waste of the product or damage to the object upon which the chemicals from the package are to be applied in exact proportions. These problems are particularly difiicult in the handling and dispensing of chemicals such as fertilizers, insecticides, fungicides, nematocides, defoliants, herbicides and the like chemical compositions, all of which can now be supplied in granular form.

In accordance with this invention a package is provided which obviates, overcomes or adequately mitigates the foregoing problems relating to the handling and dispensing of non-rigid or comminuted solid materials. The 'bulk package of this invention comprises a plurality of easily handled individual packets of non-rigid or granular material so flattened and arranged within a tear-proof outer bag or baler of pliable sheet material as to form a unitized, easily stacked and easily handled package that lays fiat on both sides. The unitary package is characterized by a biaxial rigidity and the retention of this rigidity under all stresses, especially vertical stress, due to the traverse and interengaging arrangement of the adjacent packets therein. In addition the individual packets, which may or may not contain prescribed amounts of the non-rigid or granular material, are provided with cooperative indicia which cannot be defaced and structural improvements which facilitate the opening of each packet and the discharge of the entire contents thereof safely as a unitary measure.

Accordingly, one of the primary objects of this invention is to provide an improved flexible-walled package for granular materials and a methodof forming and using same whose embodiment herein for simplicity will be described in terms as a package comprising a baler enclosing packets each of which is a sealed bag holding granular material.

A further object of this invention is the provision of a package for granular materials comprising a multi-receptacle package substantially flat on opposite face sides formed from interengaging individual packets disposed side by side within a sealed baler.

Another object of this invention is to provide an easily used and readily opened package of plural packets containing prescribed amounts of a material for industrial or home use wherein the body of the package becomes a dual funnel on opening for converging discharge of the contents.

An object of this invention is to provide a package for non-rigid materials which is self-bracing, biaxially rigid and internally stressed and interengaging to form a non-yielding, easily stacked and easily handled unit.

Another object of this invention is to provide a package comprising a plurality of closely packed, side by side individual packets containing granular material which are so shaped, canted and arranged within an outer baler of pliable sheet material as to form a unitized, rigid, easily stacked and easily handled bulk package substantially flat on opposite face sides.

A further object of this invention is to provide a bulk package for non-rigid materials characterized by biaxial rigidity and the retention of its shape and rigidity under all normal lateral and .bi-lateral stresses incurred in handling and storing.

A further object of the invention is to package granular material in tubular bags having straight line closures at opposite ends and while they are preferably in their vertical position, their tops are sealed at a predetermined distance above the material with the bag wall portions above the material flattened against each other. This provides sealed packets whose interior in a cylindrical form is almost filled by predetermined measures of granular material. Then when the packets are disposed side by side in a baler whose circumference does not exceed twice the length of the packets and Whose length is approximately three-eighths of the sum of the circumferences of the packets therein and when the package is laid fiat the combination takes on a new relationship in which the ends of adjacent packets are forced into interengaging rigidifying relationship by the baler wall as the material in the packets readjusts to fill out to the ends thereof and the packets collectively spread laterally and fill out the length of the baler as they flatten from a round to rectangular crosssection. This provides flat surfaces over a major portion of opposite sides of the package for handling and stacking with great stability with both the baler and the packets rigidly packed at a thickness of less than one-fourth the circumference of the packet and with a little less than one-fourth reduction from the circular cross-sectional area of the packet.

Still another object of this invention is to provide a bulk package for comminuted solids including the combination of an outer pliant baler with inter-engaging squared adjacent packets of said solid materials, wherein each packet is in parallel alignment with the adjacent packet and disposed transversely to the longitudinal axis of the baler, with their eared corners overlapping and interlocking at acute angles along the longitudinal edges of the baler, the baler rigidify-ing the package lengthwise and the packets rigidifying the package crosswise thereof.

These and other objects of this invention including ease of making bags, filling and packaging grandular material and the storage and dispensing of the material packaged will become apparent as the description proceeds.

An embodiment of this invention relating to the use of the package of this invention for use in handling a granular material to be mixed with another chemical or diluted before use is illustrated in the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a top plan view showing a packet of this invention before filling with comminuted solids with the striation of the plastic extending crosswise of the bag;

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along lines 2-2 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of one embodiment of this invention showing an individual packet filled with a comminuted solid, standing on its end with open space at the top after filling and the seal is made;

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of an individual filled packet to show the step of sealing and cutting and the generally curvilinear configuration of the sidewalls before placement in a baler;

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view taken on line 5-5 of FIG. 3;

FIG. 6 is a side perspective view of an upstanding baler into which have been placed five packets filled with granular material just before sealing and cutting the upper end thereof with open space at the top below the seal line;

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of the filled baler shown in FIG. 6 after sealing and cutting and laying it fiat on its side;

FIG. 8 is a partial side view of the baler of FIG. 7 to show the essentially rectangular configuration of the side- 4 walls of the packets therein and the flat top and bottom sides of the baler when in a horizontal position;

FIG. 9 is a sectional view taken on line 99 of FIG. 8; and

FIG. 10 is a perspective view showing a packet of this invention during use in the discharge of the granular contents to another container.

Referring to the drawings, particularly FIGS. 1 and 2, there is shown an empty bag 10 formed of pliant sheet material having a fold .12 at one end and the sidewalls 14 and 16 defining the space 18 therebetween to receive the granular material 20. The wide walls 14 and 16 are sealed or otherwise joined at their edges to form side seams 22 extending from the fold 12 along the length of the bag 10, leaving open end edges 24 and 26 which are slightly off-set to facilitate opening the end, setting up the bag and filling with granular material to form a packet. Either or both of the side seams 22 have a slit or notch 30 therein which extends inwardly toward the space 18 about half the width of the seam to provide a start for tearing open the bag 10.

The bag 10 is preferably constructed of rough finish sheet'material characterized by having molecular or surface striations 28 extending laterally around the packet. One method of constructing the bags is to fold a wide piece of striated sheet material a little off center with the fold line running in the direction of the striations. The long folded sheet is then transversely heat sealed and severed along parallel lines normal to the fold line to form the individual bags 10 whose open end edges 24 and 26 are the edges of the original sheet material.

A bag of this construction when placed in an upright position and filled with the granular material 20 to about 70% to about of its capacity, forms a pillow-shaped packet, the side walls of which round out (FIG. 4) and the packet has a generally circular cross-section as shown in FIG. 5. This configuration is assured by shaking down the contents during filling while the bag is in an upright position so that at least throughout the central section thereof the bag is rounded out, leaving a space (unfilled) at the top above the initial fill level 32. This facilitates flattening the side ends against each other and forming a seal indicated at 34 a spaced distance above the initial fill level 32. The excess of the edge portions above the seal is then cut away as indicated at cut 36 in FIG. 4. This forms a packet 40'as shown in the drawings.

The seams are preferably formed by pressure and heat sealed as described. Other attachment methods known in this art may be used if desired, such as sewing or gluing. The type of pliant material used and the method of forming the seams will depend on the end use of the packet 40 and the particle size of the material 20 packaged therein. Other factors, such as the necessity for protection of the contents against liquid and gaseous environments, the size and weight of the packet and the manner in which it is to be used are particularly considered in the construction, filling and sealing of the packet.

When a number of packets soforrned is packed horizontally, side by side, and compressed one against the other in a baler 42 as shown in FIG. 6, they assume generally flattened exposed surfaces and squared abutting surfaces with rounded ends. In this form when confined under substantially equal pressures upon all sides, the assembly becomes a convenient fiat-sided, roundedged, biaxially rigid unit as further described in connection with FIGS. 7, 8 and 9. The contiguous rough or molecularly striated surfaces of the bags 10 permit very little slippage of the packets within the baler 42. The striations also facilitate tearing the bag 10 transversely from the notch 30 in a side seam since the tear will pass therealong and be guided in an essentially straight line across the packet. A dotted line 44 is provided on the label 46, both of which are preferably made as a part of the bag 10, with suitable directions for opening the bag as illustrated.

The packets form convenient containers for handling, dispensing and proportioning the contents and when it is desired to use same without storage, they are easily torn open in the middle for quick and complete emptying. This is illustrated inFIG. 10, wherein by grasping the packet 40 with one hand on each side of the dotted line of the label, the seam 22 is grasped between the thumb and forefinger of each hand on each side of the slit 30 and spread apart using the slit as the starting point for ripping, as at 48, both walls of the packet. This can be done over a container and the granular contents poured from the two sections so formed. As the contents empties from the bag, the hands can be worked upwardly therealong to support the broken container and provide a funnel or trough effect from the two severed portions. By severing the container only part way, leaving a section 52 of the walls intact, a hinge is formed which keeps the two halves of the bag as a unit and still allows a gradual widening of the opening to control the rate of discharge.

Initially, the streams 54 and 56 are a combined stream, then, as the contents spill out under direct control through the placement of the hands on the two sections of the bag, the streams separate as shown. By raising the bag above the open top of the container 42 as the streams 54 and 56 become smaller and faster flowing, due to the increased angle of displacement, this combining effect of the streams is preserved. The contents can thus be transferred to a second container with ease and without waste or spillage, starting within the container if desired.

By Way of providing a physical example dimensionally of a packet, it has been found that the extent to which the bags are filled with the granular material 20 to be packaged is essentially critical. For instance a bag measuring about 5.5 inches in width and about 13 inches long is filled to approximately 75% of its full rounded-out capacity with the granular material compacted towards one end for ease in sealing. Then when laid flat, side by side, the packets have cross-sectional dimensions of about 2.25 x 3.25 inches. Under these circumstances the granular contents have been re-distributed within the bag to fill out both ends correspondingly. Since the particles of the granular material are mobile within the confines of the packet, any reduction in cross-sectional volume taking place by compression intermediate the ends is absorbed by the re-distribution of the granular material to the ends and the corners 58 of the packet.

Thus the packets, when placed one upon the other in a vertically disposed baler 42 before being laid fiat, will individually flatten on their top and bottom surfaces as the granular material is forced to begin movement into the sealed ends. The packets 'do not assume a squared cross-section intermediate their ends at this time but the granular material is re-distributed to a substantial extent. This is of interest for ease of packaging the baler.

Also the individual packets as initially filled have filled portions which are shorter than their ultimate length when packed adjacent one another and they can be easily slipped into the open top of the baler whose flat width is less than the flat length of the bag 10. Since the packets, u'ponbeing placed one upon the other in a baler, bulge more at the sides of the baler, then can be shaken down to re-distribu'te the granular material therein to leave a space 60 at the top of the baler for easy closing at a sealing line 62 well above the uppermost packet.

Thereafter the filled and sealed baler is laid flat and movement of the package as in handling and storing accomplishes a further distirbution of the granular contents within the packets to their rectangular cross-sections as described. The granular material thus forced into the ends of thepackets rounds. out the edges of the baler and the package becomes flattened to approximately 2.25 inches and is biaxially quite rigid. FIGS. 6, 7 and 8 represent the formation and configuration of a completed package in accordance with the foregoing principles.

More specifically, it is to be noted that when the baler 42 having an effective diameter which substantially is the same as or slightly less than the longitudinal circumference of each uniformly packed packet, receives the packets, at least one end of each being loosely packed, the end portions of the packets will dovetail and loosely overlap each other, particularly if the packages are alternately inserted therein end for end. This compaction and interlocking of the packets can be increased by the agitation or shaking of the filled baler before sealing it or by raising the filled baler a few inches from the surface 64- and bouncing it endwise thereon one or more times, before drawing the open sides 66 together and making the end seal 62. Any excess baler material above the seal 62 is cut off and discarded. The sealing and cutting can take place sequentially or simultaneously and be performed by hand or by machine.

Following these operations when the filled and sealed baler is placed horizontally, the packets are flattened in the baler horizontally and since the width of the baler is less than the length of the packets, there is a compression effect on the contents in four directions. This causes the packets to settle one against the other and orient themselves to fill the baler both transversely and longitudinally, forming the generally rectangular package shown in FIGS. 7 and 8. The compression and orientation of the contents of the packets in the baler fills the corners 58 of the packets, causing them to interlock against each other and against the ends of the adjacent packet where they are clamped by the tightness of the baler.

The baler preferably is made of a smooth finish plastic sheet with the printing in reverse type on the inner wall where it is scuff-free and can be read through the wall.

So constructed and shaped, the completed package, as shown in FIG. 7, has very little tendency to sag or rupture when lifted simultaneously at the sealed ends or on the diagonal and no tendency to bend downwardly at the ends when lifted simultaneously at opposite points transverse the middle. The packages have flat surfaces. They are easily handled and can be stacked one upon the other in any desired orientation on a pallet or warehouse floor in a rigid pile.

Considering now the materials used in the packages, the bags 10 forming the packets, and balers 42 forming the package, can be constructed of any pliable, nonelastic, sheet of material. However, advantage is taken of the cost savings, ease of fabrication and increased utility and strength obtained by using synthetic or natural plastic sheet material in forming the bag 10 and baler 42.

Thermoplastic sheeting such as polyethylene or polyvinylidene chloride is used to construct the enclosures of this invention because the seams can be heat sealed, stitched or stapled. Properties such as inertness to the material to be packaged, flexibility over wide ranges of temperature, toughness, low moisture and vapor transmission, non-flammability, lack of toxicity, chemical stability, transparency, and ability to retain colors are iniportant considerations satisfied by these materials, particularly the molecular striation im-posable upon thermoplastic sheet.

The package combination of this invention can be used for a variety of applications in industry and in the home. Such materials as dyes, detergents, soap flakes, powdered milk, algin, fatty acids, sand, cement, pumice, bentonite, silica gel, sulphur, charcoal, chalk, bone meal, seeds, grain, meal, condiments, rock salt, carbon black, urea, inorganic chemicals, crystalline organic chemicals 1 and various compositions of matter can be packaged in the enclosures of this invention. Where it is desired to furnish a non-rigid material or a comminuted or granular solid, i.e., a fertilizer, industrial chemical, a dye, chemical reagent, catalyst, a pharmaceutical, biological or a gasoline additive in a prescribed amount or dosage as measured in micro or macro units such as grams, pounds or cubic feet, the enclosure combination of this invention has particular utility.

To illustrate a fertilizer product derived from urea, ammoniated phosphate and muriate of potash compounded in proportions to act as a treating agent for lawns, flower beds, garden areas and shrubbery or trees which is to be applied as a water solution can be readily packaged and beneficially used in the enclosures of this invention. By using bags 10 which measure 13" x 6 with /4 inch side seams and filling them with about 3.3 lbs. of a 30515 mixture of such fertilizer a convenient packet for home use is formed as shown. Five packets of this size placed transversely and canted within the plastic baler 42, as shown in the drawings, produces a package weighing about 16.5 lbs. which is a flat-sided substantially rigid unit.

Each packet containing 3.3 lbs. of the foregoing fertilizer composition makes one gallon of concentrated fertilizer solution when the contents is mixed with approximately three quarts of water. To apply the concentrated solution, each gallon of concentrate is further diluted with a minimum of 20 gallons of water, and the diluted solution or portion thereof is sprayed through a pump sprayer, hose aspirator, or a bottle sprayer as more particularly shown and described in my application Ser. No. 520,568 which provides an automatic and constant dilution ratio between the fertilizer concentrate and water, thus avoiding the necessity of the dilution of the concentrate derived with opening of one packet.

From the foregoing description it becomes apparent that this invention encompasses closures for non-rigid materials employing an outer elongated tubular pliant baler with transverse co-planar end seams, at least a pair of substantially equal-sized elongated tubular pliant packets alignable side by side within the baler with their longitudinal axes substantially coincident with the coplanar end seams of the baler wherein the packets have transverse co-planar end seams in substantially the same angular alignment with the plane of the end seams of the baler to form an essentially rigid, unified package. The effective circumference of the baler will be substantially the same as or less than the longitudinal circumference of the individual aligned packets when filled to capacity with the non-rigid material to be packed.

Having thus described the invention it will be apparent to those skilled in the art how various and further packages can be constructed and arranged without departing from the spirit of the invention, the scope of which is commensurate with the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. An enclosure for non-rigid materials comprising in combination:

(1) an elongated tubular baler enclosing said packets and having pliant walls with transverse end seams co-planar with said axes and whose width does not exceed the length of the packets and whose length is approximately three-eighths of the sum of the circumferences of the packets therein,

(2) a plurality of substantially equal-sized elongated tubular pliant partially filled packets aligned side by side with their longitudinal axes parallel and coplanar and their end seams overlapping,

(3) the pliant walls of said baler being bi-axially drawn against both the ends and sides of said packets by the contents of the packets collectively distributed laterally and filling out their ends and the baler to provide flattened exposed sides and squared abutting sides between them to form an essentially rectangular biaxially rigid package with flat upper and bottom sides.

2. An enclosure in accordance with claim 1 in which the effective circumference of said baler is sufficiently less than the longitudinal circumference of said packets when substantially filled with said non-rigid material to restrain under compression and interlock the ends of the packets to each other with a reduction from the circular crosssectional area of the packets of not greater than approximately one-fourth.

3. An enclosure for non-rigid materials comprising in combination:

(1) an elongated tubular baler having pliant walls with transverse co-planar end seams,

(2) at least a pair of substantially equal-sized elongated tubular pliant packets aligned side-by-side within said baler with their longitudinal axes substantially coincident with the co-planar end seams of said baler and their transverse co-planar end seams displaced at an acute angle from the plane of the end seams of said baler,

(3) the pliant walls of said baler being biaxially drawn against both the ends and sides of said packets to form an essentially rectangular enclosure therefor with fiat upper and bottom sides and the end seams of the packets and are compressed thereby in interlocking overlapping relationship.

4. An enclosure in accordance with claim 1 in which the walls of said packets are striated circumferentially have diametrically opposed side seams at least one of which is cut through transversely less than the width of the overlapping seam, said cut being located intermediate the ends of said packets and adapted to function as a starting point in severing said packet to discharge the contents from both ends thereof.

5. An enclosure in accordance with claim 4 in which said packets of transversely striated material have said transverse cuts in both of the side seams at mid points opposed to each other in a direction transverse to the packet for completely emptying the packet simultaneously from both ends.

6. An enclosure in accordance with claim 5 in combination with a label thereon bearing lined indicia coincident with said cuts.

7. An enclosure in accordance with claim 1 in which each packet is formed of a single elongated rectangular pliable heat-sealable sheet of rough finish plastic folded on itself transverse its longitudinal axis for sealing along three sides to form one of said straight ends, said side seams are formed by heat-sealing the contiguous sides thereof and the opposed ends are heat sealed to form the end seams straight, and said baler is made of pliable heat scalable sheet of smooth finish plastic with instructions printed on the inside and readable through the plastic.

8. An enclosure in accordance with claim 1 in which said sealed end seams of said packets are on the same side of said baler for a continuous interlocking relationship of the packet ends.

9. An enclosure in accordance with claim 1 in which said packets are filled to about to of capacity with a non-rigid particulate solid material whereby each individual packet when upright is normally circular in cross-section intermediate its ends and has a loose upper end and corners and said packets when in their horizontal position are endwise compressed and held within said baler by the bi-axial pull thereagainst of said pliant walls causing said corners and ends to fill out in interlocking relationship.

10. An enclosure in accordance with claim 9 in which said packets are arranged alternately end for end within said baler.

11. The method of packaging non-rigid particulate materials which comprises:

( 1) placing said materials in a plurality of substantially equal-sized elongated tubular pliant packets having an open end and sealed over-lapped side seams,

(2) closing the open ends of said packets against the contents thereof while compacted by gravity,

(3) placing a desired number of said packets in the open end of an enclosing elongated tubular baler having pliant walls and having a transverse bottom end seam,

(4) aligning said packets against each other longitudinally with their longitudinal axes in the plane of said bottom end seam of said baler,

(5) fitting each of said packets as they are introduced into said enclosing baler so that the sealed ends thereof are canted in angular displacement from the plane of the bottom end seam of said baler, and

(6) flattening the top and the bottom of the baler and packets to draw said pliant wall of said baler biaxially against said packets while sealing the open end of said baler along a line in the same plane as said bottom end seam.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS Salfisberg 206-56 Sheard 206-65 Pepitone et a1. 53-30 Burton et a1 229-66 Fingerhut 206-65 Hanson et al. 229-53 WILLIAM T. DIXSON, 111., Primary Examiner. 

